When Life Gives You Lemons, Make Limeade
by Sage St.Croix
Summary: It's been two years since Eiri left Shuichi at Odaiba Amusement Park. Everyone, including Shuichi, has moved on. When Eiri suddenly reappears, will Shuichi take him back, or has he truly moved on? Told from Shuichi's POV.
1. Prologue

I do not own Gravitation

Prologue

I walked into the dark abyss of my apartment. It had been a long and tiring day and I was looking forward to a great night sleep. I flipped on the light switch and took my shoes off at the door. I dropped my bag right next to my shoes and headed towards the kitchen. As I went through my living room, I noticed a light was shining from underneath the door of one of the rooms.

'Who would be here?' I thought. I was sure that I saw everyone go in different directions when we were headed home. Despite my need for privacy, a few people have had a tendency to come into my apartment unannounced, so I gave them all keys to avoid any future problems. I walked carefully to the door, preparing for an ambush if necessary. Realizing I needed something to defend myself with, I picked up an unused bat from the basket near the front door. I always had it just in case. Living on your own, you had to make sure that you had a least some form of protection. I reproached the door and took a deep breath. I grabbed the door knob and turned it. The door slowly opened and I stood stalk still once I saw who my intruder was.

The intruder turned around, his eyes on me. He smirked, no doubt laughing at me for my puny form of defense. "I see you've changed quite a bit since the last time I saw you. That color looks really good on you." Was I dreaming? Or was my mind playing tricks on me? There was no way in hell that he of all people would be here.

"Why are you here? Better yet, who let you in?"

"The doorman let me in." Note to self, kill the doorman.

"Why are you still holding that bat? You're not planning on hitting me with it are you?"

"I dunno, maybe." I replied.

"That hurts, I haven't seen you in two years and this is how you treat me, by threatening to hit me with a bat?" He got out of the chair and headed towards me. I felt like I was stuck to the spot with super glue. I gulped.

"Now whose fault would that be?" I managed to say, moving a few steps back. His eyes were staring intently at me.

"Why are you moving away from me? You still love me, don't you?" I froze. That bastard. "I knew it brat, I knew you still loved me." He came closer. I backed up further until I bumped into the wall behind me.

"Ouch" I grimaced. Today was just not my day.

"Aw, poor Shu did you hurt yourself?" I looked up at him. Despite the fact that in the two years he was gone I grew three inches, he was still noticeably taller than me.

"No" I gasped as he grabbed me suddenly into his embrace.

"Let go!" I demanded, trying to break free from his grip. He held onto me tighter.

"Let me go!" I demanded once more.

"Why? So you can leave me?" I looked at him, amazed at his tone of voice when he said it. His eyes met mine. Those eyes belonged to the one that I loved two years ago, the eyes of the one who left me stranded two years ago. He pushed me against the wall and our lips met for the first time in what felt like an eternity. I felt the warmth and the comfort, but something seemed, different. He broke the kiss and backed up.

"You might want to work on your kissing, it's a little rusty." That bastard! He says something nice and heartfelt one second, and then insults me the next. I guess he hasn't changed at all.

"I'm not a bad kisser!" I protested. He smirked as he picked up his belongings. I followed him as he walked to the front door.

"You can keep the apartment." He said before he walked out.


	2. Part One, Track One: Two Years

Unfortunately I do not own Gravitation

Part One

Track One- Two Years

"You've got to come out sometime." Hiro said knocking on my door. "I'll come out when I feel like it." I replied.

"K's not going to be happy about this."

"Does it sound like I care?"

"Okay, it's your death wish. You can at least let me in." I sighed as I unlocked the door and let him in. He took one quick look at me with my disheveled hair and my wrinkled pajamas and sighed.

"I worry about you sometimes." He said, closing the door. He walked to the couch and sat down. "Sit" he ordered. I reluctantly sat down beside him.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sick"

"What's really wrong." That would have fooled anybody but Hiro. He knows me better than I know myself. I sighed in defeat.

"It's a long story."

"I have time." So, I told him what happened.

"What!" That was the reaction I wasn't hoping for. I could hint a little bit of concern, which made me a little annoyed. "Wait until I get my hands on him. He'll be sorry he ever abandoned you."

"Maybe, I shouldn't have told you…" The evil glint in Hiro's eyes was enough to make even K shudder in fear.

"Get up and get dressed." He ordered already heading to the door.

"Why?" I asked innocently.

"Because we have some business to handle" Oh great, look what you got yourself into Shuichi.

One perilous motorcycle ride later, we were walking through the entrance of NG in search of one Seguichi Tohma.

"What do you mean he is not in his office." Hiro demanded. I stood behind him laughing nervously. Hiro can be scary sometimes, especially when it comes to protecting me. Not like I need protecting...

"I'm sorry but he had some business to attend to elsewhere." His assistant said. "He should be back around lunch time if you would like to speak with him then."

"Fine, let's go." Hiro said walking away fuming.

"Sorry about my friend, he's just a little aggravated today." I apologized as I followed the fuming Hiro.

"So, I can go home now right?" I asked him. He laughed maniacally.

"Oh no, don't think you can just wallow in your misery at home, we have a job to do." I groaned. I really was not in the mood for singing. Hiro twisted the door knob. Just as the door was fully opened, K our crazy gun wielding manager shot at the door, scaring the hell out of both of us.

"What the hell K!" Hiro yelled as he walked inside the room first.

"You two are late. Care to explain?" K said reloading his gun.

"K, I really wish you would stop threatening them like that." Sakano said sitting nervously in the corner.

"Perhaps," K said pointing his loaded gun at a frightened Sakano, "You are right."

"Never mind, do what you like, as long as you don't kill them." Sakano said curling into a ball. Poor man, always so high strung. K put his gun over his shoulder.

"Let's not waste any more time."

"Yes, besides, I have a new arrangement that you two might like to hear." Suguru added.

"Sounds good to me." Hiro said. I looked at K and gulped.

"Yeah, let's get to work."

"Shindou, a word with you." K said as I headed out of the recording room. I moaned. Didn't he just say we could go on a lunch break?

"No problem." I looked at Hiro who was heading out of the room. "See you later?" I questioned. He nodded in acknowledgment, mouthed a "good luck" and left the room. That left only K and me. Great.

"Why were you late? " K asked. Well I wasn't expecting him to ask me that. I thought he was going to threaten me to sing better or something like that.

"Oh, I kind of… lost track of time this morning." I replied. He looked like he didn't believe me. Honestly with that response, I wouldn't believe me either.

"Very well, but next time Shindou, when you're going to be extremely late, call me or Sakano, otherwise I'll have to hunt you down myself." I gulped.

"Ok." I said as I all but sprinted out of the studio.

I was heading out the main entrance when something dawned on me. Tohma's assistant said he would be back around lunch time. Now would be as good a time as any to have a little chat with my boss.

A lot has happened in the two years since Yuki left me at Odaiba amusement park. At first, everyone was walking on egg shells when they would approach me. After I told them to stop treating me like I'm fragile, they began to loosen up. Then, I reconnected with a friend from my childhood named Harumi while we were on tour. They thought that things would go back to normal once again. But when she had to go to the United States to further her career, they begin to treat me like I was going to have a mental break down at any moment. I guess it didn't help that I decided to dye my trademark pink locks black and stopped wearing my signature bold and bright clothing in exchange for a more neutral look. But I felt like I needed a change.

I guess the biggest change had a lot to do with Seguichi Tohma. In the two years since Yuki has been gone I have formed a bond, though I don't know how safe this bond is, with Tohma. We left all formalities behind and become friends, or something along the lines of friends.

I made it up to the top floor, passed by his assistant, who was on the phone, and I was about to knock on the door when I heard voices. I looked around to make sure no one was coming and pressed my ear to the door.

"You just can't keep doing this to us Eiri. You disappeared for two years! How do you think we reacted when we had no clue where you were? But now suddenly you're back and you're expecting things to return to normal? Nothing has been normal since you left Eiri. This really affected all of us, Mika, me, and especially Shuichi." I was expecting him to show up to Tohma's office, but I wasn't expecting it this soon. It took him a while to reply, but finally he sighed.

"So, what about him?" Yuki asked.

"He isn't the same Eiri. He's not the nineteen year old kid you left behind two years ago.

"So, what is that supposed to mean?"

"It means don't expect him to come running into your arms."

"Since when have you started to care about the brat's welfare?" I scoffed; I wish he would drop that nickname.

"Since when have I cared about Shuichi? I made a mistake Eiri, about Shuichi. When I first met him, I thought he was like a parasite when it came to you. I thought that he was not good for you. But then when you left and I saw him trying to pick up the pieces, I felt that I had to be there for him. I realize now you needed him to help you forget your past and leave it behind forever." I could hear a chair in Tohma's office moving back. Was Yuki leaving?

"You've changed." Yuki finally replied.

"We can't stay stagnant forever Eiri." This time I heard another chair moving back. I looked around for something to hide behind just in case.

"Eiri, if you are going to continue seeing Shuichi, I suggest you decide if you are really serious about it, because if you do anything to upset Shuichi again, he might not recover from it."

"Hn." Was Yuki's reply. I heard the door click.

"Eiri, please take my words to heart." Tohma said. The door slowly opened and I quickly hid behind a huge planted bush. I watched Yuki walk by me and onto the elevator. I made sure the elevator was moving before I walked to Tohma's door and knocked.

"Come in." He said. I slowly opened the door. "Shuichi." He said as he looked up from the documents on the desk. "Please come in." He greeted. I quickly closed the door and took a seat. "So, how have you been?" he asked me.

"I've been…good. Ok, look Tohma I don't know if he told you this already, but, I know he is back." The look on Tohma's face told me that Yuki neglected to tell him about last night.

"Who's back?" Tohma said feigning ignorance.

"Yuki"

"How did you know?" he said. "He barely even just told me." He mumbled under his breath.

"He came to the apartment, last night." I said, neglecting to mention what happened.

"He did? Well this is all news to me." Tohma said. There was a soft knock on the door. "Shuichi, you don't mind if we finish this conversation later do you? I have a very important matter to attend to at this moment."

I shook my head, "No, not at all."

"Good" He replied. I nodded heading to the door.

After hearing the conversation between Yuki and Tohma, I was hardly in the mood to sing. I grimaced as a dull throb began to form in my head. A headache, great. K wasn't going to be so understanding if I told him I couldn't sing because I had headache, so I pulled it together and headed back to the recording studio.

After what seemed like an eternity of singing K let us go for the day. I sighed in relief; at least my headache went away. I grabbed my bag making my quick goodbyes to Sakano, K and Suguru and headed out. Hiro followed me out the door silently. I knew he wanted to say something.

"So, how was lunch with Ayaka?" I questioned stopping near the elevators. He glanced at me as he stopped too.

"Oh it was great, did you talk to Mr. Seguichi?"

"I did." He stared at me, waiting for me to elaborate.

"So, what happened?" he inquired.

"Well apparently Yuki beat me to it. He was in the office talking to Tohma when I arrived."

"Did he know you were there?" Hiro asked suddenly interested.

"No, I was listening from the outside. I hid behind one of those big planted bushes next to Tohma's office when he was leaving."

"Clever. So did you tell Mr. Seguichi what happened between you and Yuki last night?"

"No, we didn't get to talk very long; he said we would finish the conversation later."

"Well, good luck, I would chat with you longer but…"

"You have a date with Ayaka." I finished for him. Over the past two years Hiro and Ayaka have gotten very close. Ayaka even decided to move to Tokyo so she could be closer to Hiro. I am very happy for them, it's just, I don't get to spend as much time with my best friend as I used to.

"How did you know?" Hiro asked perplexed.

"Hiro, all you ever think about nowadays is Ayaka." Hiro was about to protest when I said, "Go have a nice date with Ayaka, we'll talk later."

"Ok, Shuichi, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure. Go, have fun."

"Thanks, see you tomorrow?"

"Of course, K would have my head if I decided not to show up to work."

Hiro laughed. "See ya later." Hiro said walking off.

"See ya." I replied. I sighed. The only thing I had to look forward to after work was going home to an empty apartment and watching primetime TV until I felt like going to bed. I was about to head to that boring life when I heard someone call my name. I turned around to see Tohma coming towards me.

"Oh, hello Tohma." Tohma nodded standing beside me.

"Need a ride?"

"Sure." I said as I followed him out of the main entrance.

"I thought we could finish our conversation now, unless you have something else to do?" So here's a tip when dealing with Tohma, when he wants to talk, accept it unless you don't like your job.

"I don't have any plans tonight, so I'm free."

"Good." He said as we walked out to the parking lot to his car.

Ten minutes later we were parked outside of one of Tohma's favorite places. As soon as we walked in, I knew it was going to be a very private conversation.

"I had Toshihiro close the place early." I nodded my head in acknowledgement. Tohma quickly ordered us some drinks and ushered me to a booth in the corner of the tavern.

"Have you, tried to communicate with Eiri since last night?" He asked. I shook my head. Our drinks came and I thanked the waiter. I took a sip, waiting for Tohma to continue.

"I was just wondering if he mentioned anything to you about where he has been."

"Actually he didn't really say much except that I can keep the apartment." I murmured, taking another sip from my drink. Tohma looked pensive as he took a slow drink from his glass.

"So, how do you feel about Eiri being back?" I sighed.

"To be honest, I don't really know how I feel about it. I guess I wasn't expecting him to come back so soon, if not at all."

"Yes I suppose you're right. It was quite a shock to all of us." I stared at my drink.

"Shuichi, I know you have been trying to move on these past two years, but, do you still think you have feelings for Eiri?" I looked at Tohma. Did I still have feelings for Eiri?

"I don't know."

"Fair enough."

"I suppose."

"Shuichi, you know you can talk to me about anything, don't you?" I nodded my head. "Even when I am busy?" I nodded my head again. What was he getting at?

"I know Tohma, you always tell me this." I replied.

"I know, but I wanted to make sure." He countered. He put his glass down and looked at me.

"Well in that case then, I suppose I should get to the main reason of why I brought you here."

"Main reason?" Now, I was curious.

"Well, I just think it is best if you kept a low profile, if you know what I mean. The media is going to be all over this when they find out that Eiri has returned."

"So you want me to keep a low profile in order to protect both of us?"

"Yes, the media will be in a frenzy if they so happen to catch a glimpse of you together, and frankly I don't think that is a good idea right now."

"So basically, you're saying that I shouldn't communicate with him?"

"To put it bluntly, yes."

"Well, you'll have no troubles there." I said.

"Well good, I guess it's settled then."

"Guess so." I finished off my drink and put the glass on the table.

"Oh, I almost forgot to tell you. Mika and I are throwing a first birthday party for Sakura next Saturday and we were wondering if you could attend." That's another big thing I forgot to mention about the last two years. While Yuki was gone, Mika and Tohma had a child. I guess that'll throw Yuki for a loop when he finds out he's an uncle.

"Does Yuki know about his niece?" I asked Tohma.

"No, Mika said she wanted to tell him in person."

"That should be, interesting, but about Sakura's party, of course I am coming, I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"That's good. Oh and could you invite Maiko as well? I know Sakura loves it when she comes over."

"Sure I'll ask her tonight."

"Excellent." Tohma said putting the tip down on the table, "Do you need a ride home?"

"Well, only if it's not too much trouble." I replied.

"No, not at all," Tohma said grabbing his coat.

"Ok then. Thanks."

"No problem." Tohma said as we both waved goodbye to Toshihiro.

"Have a good night Shuichi." Tohma said as I got out of the car.

"Thanks Tohma, for everything."

"No problem Shuichi, see you tomorrow." I waved goodbye and headed up to the apartment. I searched in my backpack for my keys and opened the door. I turned on the lights and headed towards the couch, searching for any light hidden beneath the doors. I could never be too careful. I sat down on the couch and took my cellphone out of my pocket. I scrolled down the contacts list until home was highlighted and I pushed send. I hadn't called home in a while, and to be honest, I was feeling a little apprehensive.

"Hello?" The voice on the other line said. I've told my parents time and time again to get a phone with caller ID so they could see who was calling but they keep refusing.

"Hey, Maiko, it's me." I replied.

"Well if it isn't Shuichi, my dear older brother. Did you forget to call last week?"

"Last week? What happened last week?"

"Man you must be getting old. People always say the mind is the first thing to go. It was mom's birthday." Crap, that's right, it was my mom's birthday last week, and I completely forgot. What type of son am I?

"Man, I can't believe I forgot." I groaned.

"I would say it's ok, but it isn't. So anyway, why are you calling if it's not to wish mom a happy belated birthday?"

"Well, actually I was calling because Tohma and Mika wanted me to invite you to Sakura's first birthday party."

"Of course you know I'll be there. I can't believe she's a year old already."

"Yea, me neither."

"So, how have you been? Anything interesting happen lately?" I couldn't tell her about the Yuki being back issue. Otherwise she would go on a tangent about how I should make him feel like shit. Yuki might be one of her favorite author's but that didn't stop her from criticizing him for abandoning me.

"No, nothing interesting has happened, how about you?"

"Oh nothing much, just going to school, Shuichi, mom wants to talk to you." I gulped. I wonder what she was going to say about me not calling her on her birthday.

"Ok." I said timidly. I could hear Maiko handing over the phone to my mom and her saying something in the background.

"Hello, Shuichi, my charming son." My mom bellowed into the phone.

"Mom, I'm sorry, really I am, I did not mean to forget your birthday I was just…"

"Busy?" she inquired.

"Yeah."

"Well, Honey, I can't say that I completely forgive you for missing my birthday, but if you do just this one little thing for me, I'll forgive you."

"And what is this one little thing?" What was she up to?

" There's this really nice girl who…"

"Mom, are you trying to set me up on a blind date?" For the last six months, my mom has been claiming that I am lonely and I need someone to spend time with. By someone, she means a girlfriend. So far I have been on eight blind dates. The girls were nice, but they just weren't my type.

"Shuichi, honey, you know I care about you and I would do anything for you, so could you please, just once, do this one little thing for me?" There she goes, guilt tripping me into doing something that I don't want to do.

"Ok, fine mom, I'll do it for you."

"Thank you, honey. Your date is this Saturday night. I'll give you her address so you can pick her up. Night, I love you. Maiko, you can have the phone back now."

"Night mom, love you too." Something tells me she knew I was going to cave in.

"So." Maiko prodded. "Another blind date, huh?"

"Yea, looks like it."

"Good Luck. This girl is nice, but she can be a little, eccentric"

"Oh another eccentric one, that's nice to know." Eccentric? What was with my mom and hooking me up with eccentric women?

"What can I say mom does know how to pick all the unique ones."

"Yeah, and I have to put up with them."

"Look at it this way, at least she isn't asking you when are you going to give her a grandchild."

"True, but then again, she's not expecting me to give her a grandchild."

"Touché."

After I finished talking to Maiko, I headed off to bed. Somehow I knew at that very moment that the life I had been building for myself for the past two years was about to come to an end. And honestly, I wasn't sure if I was ready for it yet.

Until next time,

Sage


	3. Track Two: Hiatus

Sorry I haven't update in a while. I had to study for my midterms. Anyway, enjoy!

I do not own gravitation.

Track Two- Hiatus

"Your mom set you up with another blind date?" Hiro and I were sitting in the vacant recording studio waiting for Suguru to finish with the arrangements.

I sighed. "Yeah, I thought she would get the hint by the second blind date that blind dates are not my thing." I groaned as I put my head down on the table.

"Cheer up buddy. I bet it won't be too bad." I looked at him with the 'you have no idea how bad it's going to be' look.

"Well look at it this way, it's only one date." I sighed again putting my head down on the table once more.

"Hey what are you two doing? Aren't you supposed to be working?" K said, his magnum staring maliciously at me.

"Fujisaki is arranging, so we don't have anything to work on." I said.

"Well Fujisaki is done now, so you know what that means." We both stared blankly at K. "That means, get to work." We didn't feel like getting shot at so we both got up quickly and headed to the room that Suguru was in.

"Okay guys, that's it for now. Have a nice weekend" K said. I stepped out of the recording booth relieved that rehearsal was over and the weekend had begun. But of course the weekend meant that I would have to go out on a blind date with some random girl that my mom hooked me up with. Well, there could be a lot worse things to happen. Like getting buried up to your head in sand and being attacked by a million fire ants. That might actually bring some excitement in my pathetically boring life. I was about to head out of the door when Hiro grabbed my arm.

"Hey Shuichi, what are you doing tonight?" He inquired.

"Well Hiro, I was thinking about heading home and doing absolutely nothing, why?"

Hiro sighed. "Shuichi, you are turning into a hermit. Come on man, how about we go out, just us, you know we hardly hang out that much anymore. Fujisaki can come too, if he wants."

"Actually that sounds like a good idea." Fujisaki replied.

"Good. So are you coming, or are you going to spend your Friday night in your hermit shell?" I sighed. I really didn't want to spend a Friday night alone in my depressingly quiet apartment.

"Fine, you win, but you're paying."

Hiro grinned. "Fair enough."

Half an hour later, Hiro, Fujisaki and I entered the club wearing disguises. You can never be too careful when you are a celebrity. The place was packed. The aroma of smoke, alcohol, and sweat lingered in the air.

"Come on Shuichi," Hiro said practically dragging me to the bar. "What do you want to drink?" Hiro asked.

"I don't care." I replied.

"Well in that case, can I get two rum and cokes, please?" I looked around the place and was grateful that I was unrecognizable because of the disguise. A group of young women were sitting near us chatting about Bad Luck. Curious, I decided to eavesdrop. Not like I was doing anything of importance anyway.

"I heard that Hiro quit the band and this time for good." One fan girl said.

"Well I heard that Suguru quit because he wanted to pursue his dreams of becoming an astrophysicist."

"Really well I heard that Shuichi quit the band and moved to Indonesia." Now that was a little too farfetched. Where were they getting this information from? I sipped at my drink and continued to listen to the women blab about the tabloids they have been following.

"It's not that big of a deal, you don't have to come if you don't want to. No really it's okay, well I'm at Luxe. You know where that is, right? Okay I'll see you soon. Bye, love you too."

"Let me guess." I said turning to Hiro after he pushed end on his cell phone, "Ayaka is going to be joining us?"

Hiro glanced at me, "Yeah, I told her she didn't have to come, but she insisted."

"Probably because she knows how much of a ladies man you are." Hiro glared at me. "Kidding, just kidding." I said taking a sip of the rum and coke. "I wonder where Fujisaki went?" I said changing the subject. I looked around the area and spotted him surrounded by a few women.

"Looks like he's the one you should be calling a ladies man." Hiro commented.

"It's so nice to see him out of his uptight shell." I replied. Hiro laughed at my comment and then sighed downing the rest of his drink.

"I'm sorry, it was supposed to be just us hanging out." I looked at Hiro. He was always guilt tripping himself when it came to spending time with Ayaka and spending time with me.

"No, it's ok, there's no need to apologize, I understand. Besides aren't you supposed to have fun with your girlfriend?"

"I know, but I just I feel like I moving further and further away from you."

"Well it happens, especially when you are in a relationship, so stop making such a big stink about it." I sat the empty glass on the counter. "Besides if it wasn't for you, I would be sitting on my ass right now watching who knows what horrible classic black and white horror movie." Hiro laughed. I didn't want Hiro to feel guilty for spending more time with Ayaka than with me.

"Thanks, man." Hiro said.

"No problem."

"Well that didn't go how I was expecting it to." Suguru said as we all walked out of a café near the club. Sometime during the night, someone, most likely a fan girl, became suspicious of Suguru's disguise and somehow managed to get behind him and grabbed the red wig off of his head. To say that all hell broke loose would be an understatement. Tons of women surrounded him demanding that he tell them what happened to Bad Luck and if we were coming back. Luckily for Hiro, Ayaka, and me, we were close enough to the front that we made a mad dash out of the front door, catching up with Suguru ten minutes later in the café.

"You know, you guys could have saved me from that mob of crazy middle aged women." He commented. We all laughed.

"But it looked like you were handling it so well Fujisaki." Hiro replied.

"Yeah besides I have to keep a low profile, being the singer and all." I said.

"Ha, ha. I guess one good thing came out of tonight." Suguru commented.

"And what would that be?" I asked.

"I got this girl's number." He said holding up a small scrap of paper with a number scribbled on it.

"Score one for Fujisaki." Hiro said.

"Are you going to call her?" I said nudging him in the shoulder. He blushed.

"I guess so. She gave me her number before the rampage, she seemed like an interesting girl."

"Ahhh, Fujisaki's in love." Hiro and I said simultaneously.

"Shut up." He said.

After we parted our separate ways, I finished my walk home, feeling content with myself for actually having a good time. All that quickly turned to dread as soon as I walked into my apartment. My blind date was tomorrow, and I was definitely not looking forward to it.

-The incessant ringing of my cell phone woke me up from the best dream I've had in years. I groaned as I searched blindly for my cell phone. I pressed send and mumbled a hello into it.

"Shuichi?" The voice on the other end questioned. Opening my eyes and emitting a yawn I mumbled back "Yes mom, it's me." I glanced at the clock on my bedside table and groaned. Somehow I managed to sleep until one p.m.

"What's wrong with your voice? You sound like you just woke up" I sighed. "Well actually, I did just wake up." I cautiously replied.

"Shuichi! Sleeping in until one! Did you forget that you have a date with Ayame at 4? If I hadn't have called, you would have slept right through your date! Why were you sleeping in so late for anyway? Did you have a late night?" Well she was right about most of the things she was babbling about, even the sleeping through the date part. She knew me too well. I feel like my mother's main occupation is to know her kids and read them like a book. That and set them up on dates when they have been on a year and a half dating hiatus. I let out another sigh.

"I went out with Hiro and Suguru last night, so yeah, I did have a late night."

"Shuichi, I am so proud of you. I haven't heard you mention going out with Hiro for months now. How is he doing? Is he still with Ayaka?" Just like my mom, always wanting to hear the latest news.

"He's fine and yes he is still with Ayaka."

"How serious are they?" I rolled my eyes. She always wanted to know how far their relationship was going for some strange reason. Maybe because she wishes Hiro were her son instead of having a seriously confused little ole' me.

"Mom, do we really have to discuss this?"

"You're right Shuichi. Oh I almost forgot why I called you, Ayame called me last night and said that she wanted me to tell you that she wanted to meet at that one bookstore right next to the café you always go to, is that okay?" Was that okay? Of course it was. Going to her house would have been awkward, especially if someone recognized me. I could see the tabloid now: "Bad Luck's Shindou Shuichi seen with a mysterious woman. Is he over Yuki Eiri?" Yes I do think of these things every once and a while thank you very much.

"Fine with me. Does she know who I am?" I always have to ask this question just in case I need to disguise myself more than usual.

"Yes, she knows who you are." Well this could be a good or a bad thing.

"Does she know I will be in disguise?"

"Yes."

"Good."

"Now Shuichi, be nice to Ayame, she really is a very nice girl, so none of your getting rid of your date shenanigans, understand?" How old did she think I was, 10? Well actually she does have probable cause for threatening me with that request after that one date I went on…Anyway I sighed for the umpteenth time in the last ten minutes.

"Alright, I'll be on my best behavior, mother." I said using my sickly sweet voice.

"I'll take your word for it. Call me back later to tell me how it went, ok honey?"

"Ok, mom."

"Ok honey, have a fun time, love you."

"Love you too." I said pressing end. If I wasn't looking forward to the date ten hours ago, I sure wasn't looking forward to it now.

_"Shindou Shuichi: Has Bad Luck ended?" "Yuki Eiri and Shindou Shuichi: Love, Lies, and Betrayal." "Breaking News: Shindou Shuichi spotted eating in a London eatery."_ I looked through the millions of tabloid magazines rolling my brown contacted eyes. Who actually gets paid to write this crap? Annoyed and slightly irritated by the magazines, I turned my attention to the romance section. Now I know what you are thinking. I wasn't specifically looking for anything recently written by Yuki, I was just browsing around waiting for my date to show up. Oh who was I kidding, of course I wanted to know if he has written anything in the last two years. As I glanced through the titles, two women were quietly chatting conveniently by the section I needed to see the most, but their chatter stopped me in my tracks.

"It's a shame that Yuki Eiri hasn't written a book in two years."

"I know, it couldn't have been easy for him, under his circumstances." What circumstances? And what do they mean he hasn't written a novel in two years? A soft tap to my shoulder alerted me to reality. I turned around to see a young woman around my age with dark brown hair and light brown eyes staring at me expectantly. Looks like my date has arrived.

"So, you must be Ayame." She stuck her hand out.

"Nice to meet you." She replied. The women stopped their chatter and looked at the both of us. Hopefully I didn't look too recognizable. I would hate for a mob to break out after I spent precious time, about thirty minutes, perfecting this disguise.

"How about, we get out of here." I stated grabbing her hand and leading her out of the bookstore. Those women were creeping me out.

"So, are you always this paranoid?" Ayame asked as we headed down the street. I blushed.

"Well, no, usually I am a lot less paranoid." Usually when there are no Yuki Eiri or Bad Luck fans around.

"Ok, just making sure. I wouldn't want you to freak out during our date or something." Freak out? Me? Hardly "Which reminds me, where are we going to dinner?"

"Le Rivière, it's a new French restaurant, I heard that it was a pretty nice place. Unless, you want to go somewhere else because it's fine if you don't want to go there." Ayame looked at me quizzically.

"No, it's fine." She replied.

"Well, ok then." And then the awkwardness came. I really don't like awkward moments.

"So." Ayame said.

"Yes?" I asked.

"Are we going to go there or not?" Were we still standing in the same place?

"Oh, yeah, right." Smooth Shuichi, smooth.

Until next time,

Sage


	4. Track Three: Avoidance

So sorry for my hiatus, but I am back with another chapter, hope you enjoy.

Track Three- Avoidance

Le Rivière was a very elegant restaurant and I wasn't expecting it to be such an elaborate depiction of an actual french restaurant. I was surprised to say the least. Despite my being an idiot at the beginning of our date, once we arrived to the restaurant the tension eased away.

"So that's when Hiro and I ran. Can you imagine? Two twelve year old boys covered in tar and feather's running down the street? We definitely learned never to mess with old man Noruji again."

"Wow, I didn't think you would be such a rebel Shuichi."

"Well you know what they always say, don't judge a book by its cover."

"I guess not." Ayame replied. So I had to admit, for a blind date, it wasn't half bad. "So, I must ask you, what is it like to be famous?" I get this question a lot.

"Well it has its good and bad sides. I guess the only real downside to being famous is all the attention you get. I always have to come out wearing a disguise so that no one would notice me. Not like they would know, since I've changed my look."

"I was going to mention that. Was bubblegum pink becoming too much for you?" I laughed.

"Hardly. I just sort of outgrew the need for attention, not like it's something I can get rid of now that all of Japan knows who I am, but I wanted to try something different."

"Well for a minute there I thought you we going to say that you lost a bet and had to dye your hair black, but it's nice to know that you changed for a reason."

"Yeah, I guess it is." I looked down at my half eaten plate. The date was really going well, I hardly touched my plate. Usually I would eat my food as fast as I could so I could get out.

"Can I ask you something else." I looked up at Ayame.

"Ok, sure."

"What happened, between Yuki Eiri and you?" Good thing I requested a private room because this date just hit a sour note. And it was going so well. Ayame must have seen the expression on my face and quickly remedied the situation by saying, "I'm sorry I shouldn't have asked you that." I sighed.

"No, it's ok, I mean I was expecting it to be brought up sooner or later. People are always curious to why we went our separate ways."

"Well I'm sorry , again, it's just I'm such a fan girl sometimes and I can't help myself." Wait a minute, did she just say fan girl?

"Fan girl?" I questioned. Ayame blushed.

"Yeah in my last year of High School I formed the Yuki Eiri and Shindou Shuichi Fan Club." And there goes the eccentricity, and for a moment there I thought she was normal.

"Wow, that's really, wow." I was pretty much speechless at this point.

"Yeah it's pretty, strange, I know." Ayame replied.

"Well I wasn't expecting you to be a member of an Eiri Yuki and Shindou Shuichi Fan Club let alone be a founder. Usually fan girls are a little…"

"Psychotic?"

"Yeah, to put it lightly."

"Yeah well I've never been the type of fan to scream my lungs off when I see one of my favorite celebrities."

"Well, that's a good thing, because I've had about enough of crazy mobs of fan girls chasing after me." Ayame laughed. "So besides being a founder of a fan club, what else do you do?"

"Well right now I am attending a fine arts college. I want to be an artist."

"Wow, that's pretty cool."

"Yeah, well, my parents, they don't really agree with my career choice." Ayame admitted. I could say the same thing about my parents. When I told them that I wanted to become a singer, my dad wasn't very happy. My father always hoped that I would become a successful businessman, but sitting behind a desk all day was not what I wanted to do with my life. After I told him, we had an argument and we haven't talked to each other since I became a professional singer. I guess the whole Yuki situation didn't help out our situation either. My mom on the other hand was elated about my career choice and my relationship.

"I know what you mean. My dad is not very happy about my choice in career too."

"Even now, when you have become so famous?"

"Yes, even now, but enough about that. Can I ask you a question, Ayame?" Ayame put her glass down and looked at me.

"Ok?" She questioned.

"Would you like to come to a party with me?" Now I know that was pretty rash for me to invite Ayame, a girl I hardly knew, to Sakura's birthday party, but at the moment I thought what the hell, why not?

"What type of party are you talking about?"

"Well it's a birthday party for Seguichi Tohma's Daughter." Ayame's face lit up.

"You mean Nittle Grasper's Seguichi Tohma!" Ahh and her inner fan girl was beginning to come out again.

"Yeah, so do you want to go?"

"Of course I'll come."

"So where can I pick you up?" Ayame took out a piece of paper and a pen and wrote down her address and handed it to me.

"Thanks. So I'll pick you up next Saturday at 6pm, is that ok with you?"

"Yeah, it's perfect." Ok so I know you are thinking that I invited Ayame to make Yuki jealous. Well actually I really don't know why I invited her. After dinner we walked around for a while and I dropped her off at her house.

"It was nice meeting you Shuichi."Ayame said her hand on her door.

"And it was a pleasure meeting you Ayame. See you next Saturday."

"I'm looking forward to it." She replied. I walked off, feeling a little different. Usually blind dates ended horribly, but this blind date actually went well. 'Does that mean that I was finally ready to date?' I continued to debate that as I walked back to my apartment. 'Dating doesn't seem that bad', I thought. 'Maybe I can even have some fun for once.' I turned the key in the lock and entered the apartment. The place was empty, as usual. Not like I expected someone to be here. I sighed. 'It would be a nice change to not live alone,' I thought as I headed to my bedroom to get some much deserved sleep. I got to the door and there was a note taped to the door. 'To Shuichi: Don't think you can get rid of me so easily. I will be back.' It had to be Yuki, who else could it possibly be if not him. I opened my door and dropped the note on the nightstand. Maybe this whole dating thing sounded like an excellent idea.

"BIG NEWS!" K shouted over the commotion in the practice room. All of us stopped talking and stared. The last time he said big news, we ended up making a music video in the forest and I was dressed in a bear suit. Let's just say, it did not end well. K swiftly walked to the table and set a pile of papers on the table.

"We aren't going to be making a video in the forest, are we?" Suguru questioned.

"Ugh, please don't remind about that." I commented. K laughed maniacally and we all gulped. He held up two fingers.

"Two? Are we making two music videos?" I questioned.

"We have to arrange two more songs?" Suguru suggested.

"No. In two weeks, we are having a press conference about Bad Luck's new album."

"A press conference? We haven't had one…"

"In a year in a half since the tour ended." A year and a half, I haven't been in the spotlight for a year in a half?

"Were you talking to President about this K?" Sakano asked.

"Yes, actually he was the one who suggested this." Hmm I wonder why?

"Well, I think it's a great idea, it's about time that we get back into the spotlight." I replied. Everyone looked at me in surprise.

"Are you sure?" Hiro questioned.

"Of course I'm sure, why not?"

"Well, you heard the man. In two weeks we will be having our press conference." After K's announcement, we went back to work. But for some reason I could not stop thinking about the press conference. Why did Tohma suddenly want to have a press conference so soon? I was suspicious, and I had to find out why.

"I just think you are unsure about what you want in life and therefore you get stuck in a perpetual rut of always thinking that you are worthless at dating and the only thing that you are good at is music. Therefore you will always live your life alone with nobody to keep you company on those cold lonely nights." I was sitting on my couch eating a box of strawberry pocky, watching music central and talking on the phone to my sister. She thought it was necessary that she give me psychoanalysis for her psychology of personalities class, but now after what she had said, it wasn't such a good idea after all.

"Well geez, thanks Maiko, not only do I think I am a complete failure when it comes to having a love life but now I am going to become a hermit too." Maiko laughed.

"Shuichi, it was just a quick overview from my textbook, it doesn't mean that you are going to be a chronic hermit who will never know what it is like to love another ever again. You'll find love. And for all I know, love might have already found you." Or in my case an ex love. I sighed. I felt bad not telling Maiko about the whole Yuki situation, she deserved to know being my sister and all.

"It's just Shuichi, I worry about you sometimes. You're my older brother and as your younger sister I look up to you. But when I see you like this, all alone and giving up on love, it makes me sad. I want you to be happy Shuichi, that's all I want for my brother. What Yuki did to you wasn't right, but that doesn't mean that you have to give up on love." Maiko really felt that way? Suddenly my guilt increased tenfold. I had to tell Maiko about Yuki.

"Maiko, I have to tell you something, it's about …."

"Shuichi, I'm sorry I have to go, my friends are here, we're going out tonight, we can talk about this later ok?"

"But, Maiko."

"I'll see you on Saturday at Sakura's birthday party. Love you, Bye!"

"Wait Maiko!" but the phone line went dead. I pushed end on my cell phone and moaned. _See you on Saturday at Sakura's birthday party._ Great. Sakura's birthday party was going to become one problematic event.

The morning of Sakura's birthday had me in a panic. I panicked as I got out of bed and hurriedly took a shower. What if Yuki was there? Of course he's going to be there, Sakura is his niece. I was panicking as I fixed myself breakfast. I bet Maiko is going to be mad at me as soon as she sees that Yuki is there and I never told her that he was back. I panicked as I was driving to Ayame's house later that day. What if everyone comments about me bringing Ayame? I panicked as I rang the doorbell to pick up Ayame. I was panicking while Ayame and I walked back to my car. I panicked as we headed over to the Seguichi residence. I was experiencing a Sakano size panic attack by the time I rang the doorbell to the Seguichi residence. When the door opened and Seguichi Mika was standing there with a party hat perched on top of her head, my panic lessened, if only a bit.

"Shuichi, it's so nice to see you." She said giving me a hug. "Oh and who is this?" Mika questioned her eyes on Ayame. I guess I should explain. Seguichi Mika never really liked me, and that was true, in the past. In the past two years she has changed her opinion about me. To make a long story short, for some strange reason, most likely having to do with Tohma's friendship with me, she likes me now.

"Oh, this is Sakirochi Ayame."

"Well it is a pleasure to meet you Ms. Sakirochi." Mika said politely.

"Oh the pleasure is mine, Mrs. Seguichi." Ayame replied.

"You can call me Mika, if of course, you let me call you Ayame? There is no need for such formalities here, besides a friend of Shuichi's is a friend of mine after all." She looked at me with knowing eyes and I blushed furiously. Did she have to say friend like that?

"Oh why of course Mrs. I mean Mika." Ayame blushed.

"Now how about we all go inside, the party just started." Mika said letting us in to the house. I handed Sakura's present to Mika as she headed into the living room where the party was being held. I wondered how many people were present already as I entered the living room. Fortunately everyone was there except Yuki. Maybe there was no need to panic. I said to hello to everyone and even got some encouraging looks when everyone saw that I came to the party with someone.

"Everyone, this is Ayame. Ayame, this is, everyone." Everyone greeted Ayame warmly. I sat on one of the couches next to Hiro and Ayaka. So far, this was actually going well.

"Here Mika, was this what you were looking for?" Damn spoke too soon.

"Yes Eiri, thanks." Mika said as Yuki handed her something. I could feel the tension build up in the room. Yuki looked up and our eyes met. What was it about his eyes that always managed to captivate my attention? Yuki seemed to glide as he came near me. I could tell that everyone's eyes were on me, including Maiko's. I would definitely have to explain myself later.

"Why, hello, Shuichi." Yuki said.

"Hello, Eiri." I replied. I glanced over to Ayame. "Ayame, allow me to formally introduce you to Yuki Eiri. Eiri, this is Ayame, my date for tonight." What was I thinking. My date for tonight? Who was I kidding? Yuki glanced at Ayame in acknowledgement but his eyes never seemed to leave mine.

"Shu…" Yuki began.

"Hey guys, sorry I'm late. I had to pick up a straggler on my way over here." Thank you Tatsuha, I will never speak badly about you ever again. "Happy birthday Sakura I hope you like my gift." Tatsuha said as he picked up Sakura who was sitting on the floor enjoying her toys. Standing behind him was a young woman. She came from behind him and stood next to him.

"Everyone I would like to introduce you to Yumi, my girlfriend. Yumi, this is everyone." Everyone greeted Yumi the same way that they greeted Ayame. Yumi? I would have never thought that Tatsuha would have a serious relationship. I thought he would be forever obsessed with Sakuma Ryuichi. I greeted Yumi when she came to me.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Shindou."

"Please call me Shuichi. " After greeting Yumi, I looked around at all of the people chatting around me. My eyes caught Maiko who had Sakura sitting on her lap. She looked slightly amused and annoyed at the same time. She swiftly handed Sakura over to Mika and headed into the kitchen. Taking that as a signal that I should follow her, I quickly excused myself and followed her into the kitchen.

"So, when were you going to tell me that Yuki Eiri was back?" Maiko questioned, her back to me.

"I was going to tell you, but I had to find the right time to tell you." Maiko turned around.

"The right time to tell me huh? You could've told me when it happened. How long have you known?"

"Almost two weeks now." I admitted. Maiko sighed, disappointed in me.

"Just answer one question for me Shuichi, will you go back to him, now that he's back?" I shrugged.

"I don't know." I honestly replied.

"Fair enough."

"Maiko, if it's not too much trouble," Mika said coming into the Kitchen," Could Shuichi and you help me bring the cake into the living room so we can get this party started?" I nodded in agreement.

"No problem Mika, we would love to." Maiko said. I knew this conversation was far from over, but at least I had a distraction.

I helped Maiko bring the cake into the shared living room and dining room, where we preceded to light the candles and sing a round of Happy Birthday to a giggling Sakura. After Mika helped Sakura blow out her candles, we all enjoyed a slice of cake and light conversation. Of course during that entire time I was trying to avoid Yuki by making sure I wouldn't end up being next to him. As the party wore on Tatsuha became restless and proceeded to challenge everyone to a Karaoke contest and the winner would receive a bottle of Sake. Needless to say, the party got a little out of hand so I headed outside to get some fresh air and to clear my jumbled thoughts.

Music used to be my life. I remember back during the days when I was trying not to flunk out of high school, when music was the only thing that dominated my life. Music was something that would never leave me. I don't know when I started to lose sight on what I wanted to do with my life, but it felt like forever since I've experienced those feelings about music. Those nostalgic feelings had faded and reality had sunk in. I walked over to the small pond in the Seguichi's garden and set on a bench next to it. Maybe I had lost sight on more than just my love for music. I sighed staring at my reflection in the water.

"So, this is where you've been hiding. I thought for sure you were going to be up on that make shift stage Tatsuha set up, singing." I looked up. Standing there in all of his Godlike glory was the man who had caused me so many problems since the day I met him.

"Usually I would, but I didn't feel like it tonight." He came closer to me.

"Oh, is that so?" He questioned.

"Eiri, can we please not do this tonight, I am seriously not in the mood."

"Do what?" He questioned innocently.

"Do this. Talking as if nothing has happened, speaking to each other as if two years haven't passed by since we've seen each other." Yuki didn't reply, in fact we both sat there in awkward silence for a few moments until finally Yuki said,

"Did you get my message?" I looked up at him. What the hell was he talking about. I was about to say just that to him when I suddenly realized what he was talking about.

"You know, I can get you for breaking and entering." I commented. He laughed. "You know, just because you want me back, it doesn't mean that I want you back."

"Is that so?"

"Yes." I replied without hesitation. "Besides it's not like I'm available." Why the hell did I say that? Of course I was available, I was so available that if he asked me to go out on a date with him at that moment, I would've said yes in a heartbeat. But of course, I didn't want him to know that.

"So you're dating that Ayane girl." Yuki seemed slightly surprised and amused as well. I needed to come up with a quick reply, but the word vomit that came out of my mouth was enough to make me gag.

" It's Ayame and yes, as a matter of fact, I am seeing her." What am I doing? I think I had one too many Russian vodka chocolates.

"Well that's pretty amusing considering the fact that I overheard Hiro talking about the blind date you were recently forced to go on by your mother." Another note to self, kill Hiro. Okay I was stumped, I was officially found out.

"Give it up Shuichi, you only brought that girl here because you knew I would be here, and you wanted to make me jealous."

"Oh please, not everything is about you."

"Oh, is that so?" He said coming closer to me.

"Yeah it is. I brought her to this party because she wanted to meet everyone, that's all."

"Is that right?" he was coming even closer.

"Yes, it is." I said standing up in anger. If he said 'is that so' one more time I might have actually punched him. I mean who does he think he is treating me like I'm an idiot who doesn't know what he is talking about? Before I could even comprehend it, Yuki closed the gap between us and his arms were around my waist pulling me into a kiss. I pushed him away before the emotions took over and glared at him.

"What the hell did you do that for?" I questioned angrily. The smirk on his face was enough to make me blow up but I calmed myself down.

"Thank you Shuichi, you have shown me just what I wanted to see." What? What the hell was he talking about?

"What the hell are you talking about?" I questioned. He didn't answer me, and instead he turned around and walked back into the house.

"See you around." He said before closing the door. I waited a few minutes to calm myself down, and to make sure no suspicions would arise with me walking in right after Yuki, before I finally headed inside.

"I had a really great time." Ayame said as I stopped my car in front of her house. At least someone had fun at the party. "Who would have known that celebrities act just like..."

"Regular people?" I questioned. Ayame blushed.

"Yeah." We sat in silence for a moment.

"Ayame?"

"Yes?"

"Would you like to go out some time, with me?" I was hoping she would say yes but the look on her face said otherwise.

"Shuichi, you're a really great guy," here comes the rejection, "But I don't think it will work, you and me." I sighed.

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

" Because I like you, but you are still in love with Yuki Eiri." What? I wasn't in love with Yuki anymore. I mean at least not in the way I was two years ago. Was it that noticeable? "Shuichi I don't want to be a rebound, I want to date you with no strings attached." Ok I'll admit, I was being a little selfish.

"You're right, I'm sorry Ayame." She smiled and put her hand on my arm.

"It's ok Shuichi. You're a nice guy, but I'm just not the one." She kissed me on the cheek lightly before she exited the car. She was headed up the stairs when she stopped and turned around. " If you ever need anyone to talk to or just someone to hang out with, you can call me." I smiled.

"Thanks Ayame."

"Anytime."

I might have managed to kiss my ex, again, but on the brightside, I did gain a new friend. Maybe things were finally getting better.

Until next time,

Sage


End file.
